In the same interview, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa also confirmed that the replacement for the 599GTB—also scheduled to arrive in 2012—will retain its front-engine arrangement and will be constructed not of carbon composites, but largely from aluminum alloys. But, we asked, must the car have at least 700 hp to match the new Lamborghini Aventador?

“We are selling cars, not horsepower,” said Felisa. Then in what we must assume was feigned ignorance, Felisa asked exactly how much horsepower the Aventador makes. We told him 700, which is the Lamborghini-provided figure. (We convert that number, which is measured in PS, to 691 SAE net horsepower.)

Felisa’s reply: “We’ll have more than 700 horsepower.” He paused long enough to thwack us on the shoulder before continuing, “but it’s not because of the Aventador.”

The current 599GTB makes 612 hp and the GTO version made 661, so 700 isn’t too far off. Ferrari earlier indicated in official future-product plans that the 599 replacement will be a more extreme performance machine than the current car and also, of course, more expensive. We expect the car to appear at next March’s Geneva auto show.